Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe worldwide health crisis resulting in a significant decrease in life expectancy in numerous countries. However, Denmark has experienced relatively low mortality rates due to COVID-19, and thus far, there has been no noticeable effect on life expectancy in the country.¹

In 2021, the COVID-19 project was launched in Denmark to investigate the secondary consequences of the pandemic on various illnesses.^2-6 The study was conducted by the Danish Clinical Quality Program - National Clinical Registries (RKKP) in partnership with medical professionals. The primary goal of the project was to gain insight into how the pandemic affected the following areas: the levels of diagnostic and therapeutic activity for illnesses besides COVID-19, the quality of care for diseases other than COVID-19, social inequality in healthcare, and the lessons learned for managing similar pandemics and catastrophes in the future.

Methods As part of the project, eleven distinct diseases were examined, representing a range of illness types such as acute and chronic ailments, cancer, and psychiatric disorders. These diseases were selected based on their significant and severe nature, which made them more susceptible to being impacted by the pandemic. To gather data, various sources were utilized, including the Danish clinical quality registries, socioeconomic and demographic information from Statistics Denmark, and data on prior illnesses and hospital visits from the Danish National Patient Registry. To analyse the data, the pandemic period and its different phases were compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Results According to the findings of the study, the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a detrimental impact on the overall diagnosis and treatment quality or the general activity levels of the examined disease areas. This suggests that the Danish healthcare system was rather resilient and was capable of preserving its fundamental operations throughout the pandemic. However, the research also indicated that social inequality in healthcare was aggravated during the pandemic, particularly for immigrants, individuals living alone, those with limited education, and low-income groups. In this way, the pandemic has reinforced already known problems with inequality in the Danish healthcare system.^{7 8} Therefore, the study emphasizes the need to address social disparities in healthcare within the Danish healthcare system and in future public health emergencies.

This project is an example of how the extensive Danish quality databases can be utilized to gain an overview of how crises and catastrophes affect the quality of care provided. It can thus provide valuable information for future emergencies, while also serving as a magnifying glass for potential quality and patient safety challenges that must be addressed even in times between crises.

References

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